


Of Bonds and Brothers

by EchoShimmer



Series: Wumptober 2020 [7]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: "Take me instead", Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Gen, Good Sibling Tim Drake, Negotiations, Protective Tim Drake, Ra’s al Ghul Being a Jerk, Tim Drake is too self sacrificial for his own good, wumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26921080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoShimmer/pseuds/EchoShimmer
Summary: Damian always knew what his future would look like, no matter what he wanted for himself. Tim decides to get in the way of that.
Relationships: Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Ra's al Ghul
Series: Wumptober 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948924
Comments: 8
Kudos: 248
Collections: Works good enough I will definitely reread





	Of Bonds and Brothers

This didn’t make any sense. 

Why did Drake never make any sense!

The situation had started out as normal. Expected, even. Damian al-Ghul had been born with a purpose, to be his Grandfather’s heir to the League. He had been raised, educated, and trained on that principle. He had learned to lead, he had learned to fight, he had learned to kill. He was to be the perfect Heir, as was befitting of his lineage.

The fact that Damian had now met Father, and was starting to think that he might prefer his methodology to the League’s, was inconsequential to a man like Ra’s. Damian had been sent here only to serve as a distraction for something greater and to get some special training from the Detective himself. It was never intended to be permanent. Damian was always meant to return.

When Damian had foolishly tried to make the decision of which parent to follow for himself, he had forced his Grandfather’s hand. Damian should have known better than to expect the people who raised him to let him go peacefully.

The attack on the Manor and the underlying Cave had been swift and brutal, obviously planned in a way to ensure success. The Batman himself wasn’t even in the city, having been called away on a Justice League mission that Damian could almost guarantee was prompted by Ra’s calling in a couple favors. It was too perfect of a coincidence. Either way it ended the same: the family’s best and most feared fighter was absent while their home base was under attack.

The sheer number of attacking ninja was instantly overwhelming. Within minutes of the perimeter alarms sounding they were flooding the halls, with Grayson, Drake, and Damian scrambling to get to the Cave before the League’s forces breached there as well and cut off access. Pennyworth had been elsewhere in the house, and was theoretically now safely ensconced into one of the various panic rooms scattered throughout the building. There was certainly no time to confirm it now that they were surrounded.

Grayson had been separated from the small group of defenders early on, drawn into a fight with a couple assassins off to the side during the second wave, quickly swallowed into the chaos with the parting words to be careful and that he would try to get out a signal to Batman. This had left Damian with Drake, which had not inspired much confidence. Fortunately enough, the two teens were able to put aside their differences in the face of overwhelming odds, though they did so with minimal talking. It was an alliance of pure necessity after all. 

Of course, two people with minimal weapons and no armor could only stand against dozens of fully prepared and rather determined ninja for so long. The pair withstood the attacks for a surprisingly long time, all things considered, before both boys were eventually disarmed in quick succession. Damian huffed at the sword pointing at his chest but obligingly raised his arms, Drake doing the same with a calculating look in his gaze. One of the men stepped forward, apparently the one in charge.

“Damian al-Ghul, the Master has demanded that you return to his side, whether that be willingly or by force. Should you resist, you will face punishment. Come quietly, you will be spared accordingly.”

Damian resisted showing any weakness in the face of those who defeated him, but internally he sighed as he gave in. This moment was always inevitable, after all. There was no use in trying to resist the role that he had been born to fill any longer. 

But then Drake had stepped forward, ignoring the many sharp objects and suspicious eyes on him as he did so, and that's when everything stopped making sense for Damian.

“Take me instead,” the older teen said. “I will come willingly, I will work with Ra’s willingly, as long as you agree to leave Damian and the others in peace. Damian has already proven that he has a potential for rebellion, and there would be very little to help guarantee true cooperation in the future besides punishment. Even with the Pits, there are limits to what can be done. With me, Ra’s would know exactly what buttons to push to ensure I stay in line. He knows exactly how to use someone’s morals against them. Ra’s has been impressed with my mind and physical potential in the past. Let me make a deal now that he actually has something I want.” 

Drake’s voice was shockingly insistent and sure, though true emotion was largely absent. It was like a business pitch, Damian thought. He sounded genuine, and that instantly made Damian suspicious. 

This had to be some sort of plan, right? Maybe he was just buying time? Damian decided to watch how it played out before speaking, not wanting to interfere with whatever Drake had come up with. As much as he was loathe to admit it, the older boy had proven himself an adept strategist in the past. Drake wouldn’t hand himself over for  _ Damian _ so easily. There must be something he’s missing.

The ninja, too, seemed confused by the sudden turn of events. Two of them, the commander and one of the ones holding a sword to Drake, exchanged a quick glance before the former took a step back. Not taking his eyes off of Drake, the leader of the group tapped a finger against one ear, activating a formerly hidden Comm.

“Master,” a pause. “Yes, just as expected. But the middle boy, the current Robin, was with him, and he has presented an offer that I felt you may want to be informed of.” The man proceeded to explain what Drake had said, pausing occasionally in deference to the inaudible voice on the other end of the line before explaining some other detail. 

Damian’s gaze flicked between the ninja speaking to Ra’s and Drake, looking for a clue, looking for the plan that must be forming. But Drake was frustratingly lacking of any indicators as the one-sided conversation progressed, face blank and giving nothing away. Damian had noticed Drake pull that mask on before, but never this effectively. Damian was flying blind.

The ninja finished his conversation with an obedient statement of, “Yes Master, it shall be done,” before once again tapping the line closed. The man immediately stepped forward and spoke to Drake, shoulders angled in a way to make it clear that he was speaking to only the older boy, not Damian. “The Demon’s Head has accepted your offer, Timothy Drake,” he said. “You are to come quietly and without struggle, and you will allow yourself to be restrained now and subjected to search and scan before we exit the city. Any discovered tracking devices or undisclosed weapons will be seen as breach of agreement. Any resistance will be seen as breach of agreement. More details will follow once we are alone. Do you accept the deal?”

And Damian watched carefully for the signal, for the moment where Drake would suddenly lash out at the unnoticed opening only he had seen. He waited for this whole play at a trade deal to be proven false, and everything could fall back into place as it should. But all Drake did was take a small step forward, nodding at the closest ninja holding a sword on him, and offered his wrists to be bound.

“Drake,” Damian managed to say, almost stuttering in his shock despite his extensive training otherwise. “Drake, what are you doing? You can’t be seriously handing yourself over to Grandfather. Even you know better than to underestimate him.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Drake said flatly as the shackles locked, and  _ why was he so calm? Why was he not fighting this? _ “I’ve made the best choice I could given the circumstances, and I intend to honor that choice.” He glanced away from Damian, towards the direction of continued battle that Damian could only assume was Grayson continuing to fight, entirely unaware of what was occurring on the other side of the Cave through the crowd of invaders.

“But  _ why _ !” Damian said with surprising desperation.  _ Why would Drake do this? Why would he give himself up to protect someone he hated, someone like Damian? _

“Well, I’m supposed to be your big brother now, aren’t I? Isn’t it my job to protect you?” Drake’s face bloomed into a fleeting, genuine smile over his shoulder as the ninja started to converge around him, ushering him towards the closest exit. “You have a chance at a real life now, Damian. Please do your best to make the most of it.”

The crowd shifted, blocking Drake from view even as Damian shouted at them to wait, because he didn’t understand. Why was Drake doing this? Hadn’t Damian’s fate been set in stone since his conception? How could Drake just say a few words and somehow dare to rewrite Damian’s whole life like this? What was he playing at?

Damian’s request for more time was ignored. He was held back by strong, unfriendly arms as the order to retreat seemed to spread through the ninja’s ranks. Those not immediately engaged in battle instantly turning around, the others right behind them. Grayson appeared through the crowd, moving quickly and with evident relief once he saw Damian standing freely and unharmed as the enemy withdrew, unaware of the events that led to Damian standing there so blankly, trying to process. 

He would realize, in a moment. Grayson would connect the League’s sudden retreat and Drake’s absence with Damian’s unharmed, slightly shocked presence as the eleven-year-old struggled to rationalize what the older boy had done. No matter how things proceeded, the truth was still the same as the last black-clothed forms flitted away into the twilight above, slipping back into the shadows from whence they came.

Drake was already gone.


End file.
